“These are as near to his exact words as I can recall from memory:
“‘I have the wherewithal and desire necessary to carry out the biggest financial crime of our day, the grandest ever attempted, and I am certain we can manage it if we get started at once. You have contacted the right man with whom to participate, for no other man in Washington City has at his disposal the facilities required to carry it to fruition. I know of every man in every department, of every private entrance into every building in Washington City and of every financial high crime and misdemeanor occurring in the city at any point in time. I propose that we remove Federal money and bonds from the treasury to use for speculative designs while also floating bogus bonds upon the English market, Federal and Confederate.
